Tripoli, 1 September:
The trial of those accused of the attack on Tripoli International Airport on 4 June convened in the capital . . .[restrict]on Tuesday.
The case is being heard in a military court, presided over by Brigadier General Ali Abdul-Jalil Teif. The court heard opening statements from the prosecution counsel, and for defence counsel from one of the accused, but the trial was adjourned until 13 September to allow others of the accused to be assigned legal representation.
More than 200 armed members of the Al-Awfeya briefly took over the airport on Monday, 4 June. Their attack was in response to the disappearance, the day before, of the head of the brigade, Abu Ajila Habshi.
After sporadic clashes that lasted less than an hour, the outnumbered Awfeya Brigade surrendered to the forces of the Brigades’ Union of the Revolutionaries of Tripoli, a government-controlled group.
Brief though it was, the takeover was had a considerable impact on the image being presented internationally of Libya in the build-up to the elections. [/restrict]
